This is a book for the high-concept cook - especially one who doesn't mind paying nearly $1 a recipe (there are actually 53). Olivier Roellinger is a Brittany chef who really, really loves the sea.

The ocean theme of his book extends to the recipe directions (cooking time is "cruising time"; equipment is "rigging," etc.) and photographs of crashing waves. Accompanying recipes such as Queen Scallops With Vanilla Cauliflower Cream are sterile diagrams on presentation that look more like architectural schematics than plates of food.